Ricky Chu Man-kin

Opinion | To truly tackle poverty, Hong Kong must end discrimination against all minorities

Discrimination – whether in Chinese education for ethnic minorities, reluctance to employ those with disabilities, or pressure on pregnant employees to resign – breeds social exclusion, stigmatises poverty and makes a better life harder for minorities

Reading Time:3 minutes

Why you can trust SCMP

Members of Hong Kong’s ethnic minority residents call for equal employment opportunities, outside the government’s headquarters in 2018. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Ricky Chu Man-kin

Published: 11:30am, 2 Feb 2020Updated: 11:40am, 2 Feb 2020

The Hong Kong government’s HK$10 billion (US$1.29 billion) welfare package has garnered mixed feedback, from harsh criticism to hearty praise for trying to tackle the deep-rooted problem of poverty. The fundamental question is: why are certain communities struggling with poverty more than others, and how does discrimination and social exclusion come into play?

Hongkongers living below the poverty line reached a 10-year high of 1.4 million in 2018, and without policy intervention, may rise amid an ageing population and global economic uncertainty. But the fight against poverty is futile if discrimination is sidestepped or remains unresolved.

Denying anyone an equal opportunity to learn, fulfil his or her potential, get a job or develop a career because of gender, disability, race, family responsibility or other qualities is discrimination, which breeds social exclusion – a straight road to economic disempowerment.

Worse, poverty can become a stigma, equated with a lack of talent, initiative or ambition, creating a vicious circle where marginalised communities internalise these labels.

Ethnic minorities, for instance, are disadvantaged by structural problems in the education system, such as the lack of a fully fledged Chinese curriculum for second-language learners or support and training for teachers.

An Equal Opportunities Commission study earlier this month revealed that, for subjects other than the Chinese language, only 54 per cent of teachers are confident about helping ethnic minority students reach a level comparable with that of their Chinese counterparts. There is also little information on how universities convert test scores in alternative Chinese exams – often taken by ethnic minority students – for use in admissions.